Thai Bourse May Spin Its Wheels On Friday

The Thai stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, advancing more than a dozen points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,680-point plateau although investors may cash in on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild downside after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The SET finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the energy producers and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index climbed 6.40 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 1,681.73 after trading between 1,681.25 and 1,688.90. Volume was 11.756 billion shares worth 49.166 billion baht. There were 762 gainers and 561 decliners, with 500 stocks finishing unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Thursday before finishing mixed and little changed.

The Dow added 10.92 points or 0.04 percent to 26,191.22, while the NASDAQ lost 39.87 points or 0.53 percent to 7,530.88 and the S&P 500 fell 7.06 points or 0.25 percent to end at 2,806.83.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely anticipated decision to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 2 to 2.25 percent.

The Fed's accompanying statement noted a slowdown in the pace of growth in business investment, but the central bank reiterated further gradual increases in interest rates remain appropriate.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight decrease in initial jobless claims in the week ended November 3.

Crude oil futures drifted lower on Thursday, extending losses to a ninth straight session on concerns over rising inventories and economic uncertainty. Crude oil futures for December ended down $1.00 or 1.6 percent at $60.67 a barrel, the lowest settlement price in about eight months.